THE smiles say it all. To Samantha Drake, she fulfilled a lifetime’s dream when her very first runner as a licensed trainer was a winning one when the aptly-named Star Performer triumphed six weeks ago.

To her and her jump jockey fiancée Jonathan England it is a labour of love as they put a dozen horses through their paces at their Guiseley, Leeds yard each day.

Racehorse trainer Samantha Drake at her yard in Guiseley. Pictures by Tony Johnson

The work is intense – time spent riding out is interspersed with the day-to-day graft of mucking out, cleaning tack, feeding horses and running a family farm – and the days are long, especially in the damp cold.

Yet, as 28-year-old Drake concedes, how can you be unhappy when your job is your hobby? As she says, it will always beat working for a living.

Racehorse trainer Samantha Drake at her yard in Guiseley. Pictures by Tony Johnson

Racehorse trainer Samantha Drake at her yard in Guiseley. Pictures by Tony Johnson

Racehorse trainer Samantha Drake at her yard in Guiseley. Pictures by Tony Johnson